viola, voila

Viola or viola is a four-stringed instrument, larger than a violin or fiddle, but similar in appearance, and a bit lower in tone--
She plays the viola in the local orchestra.
We have heard her practice that tune on her viola dozens of times.

Viola or viola is also the scientific or Latin name for a pansy, the small purple or blue garden flower--
Some viola will look nice in the front garden.
He wore a viola in his buttonhole, to celebrate the end of the cold weather.

Voila or voila, borrowed from French, means "there it is!" or "look!"--
Now remove the aluminum foil, and voila! you have an ice cream cake.
Then we subtract the same amount from both sides, and voila! we have the correct answer.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We just need to tune the viola, and voila! everything sounds much better."

errant, arrant

Errant or errant means wandering or roving--
He was a knight errant, in quest of adventure.
It was a sultry day, without even an errant breeze.

Arrant or arrant means downright or thorough--
A pox upon him for an arrant fool!
He's an arrant scoundrel, and ought to be banished.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"This knight errant may be an arrant knave, or so it seems to me."

at all, a tall

At all or at all ( two words ) means in the slightest degree; in any way, or for any reason--
He won't mind at all if we are a bit late.
It was no trouble at all.
Why worry at all?

A tall or a tall ( two words ) describes one ( a ) person or thing of greater than average height--
He's a tall man; he has to stoop to get in the door.
On one side of the room there is a tall bookcase.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He set it on top of a tall chest of draweres, where no one noticed it at all."

bird, burred

Bird or bird means the feathered two-legged creature, usually capable of flight--
We'll have to look for that bird in the guide; I don't know what it is.
A bird is building a nest in the eaves; we should seal that off.

Burred or burred ( rhymes with bird ) means rough or prickly--
The seed pod is about the size of a walnut, round with burred edges.
You'll need to sand this, unless you meant the edges to be burred.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The logo will have a bird in the center, and burred or saw-toothed edges."

attention, a tension

Attention or attention ( one word ) means mental concentration or consideration--
May I have your attention please.
He seems to have a short attention span; we'll have to work on that.

A tension or a tension ( two words, rhymes with attention ) means one ( a ) straining or stretching under force or pressure ( tension ) , physically or psychologically--
The machine just needs a tension adjustment.
This is supposed to be good for a tension headache.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"This cable may snap under a tension that's too much for it, so pay attention."

rants, rance

Rants or rants is the plural ( more than one ) of "rant", meaning a violent or extravagant speech--
The moderator took down the worst rants, but the comments remaining are still quite rude.
That's just one of his rants; pay no attention.

Rants is also the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "rant", meaning to speak violently and wildly--
He rants when he gets excited; don't listen to him.
He rants about politics whenever he sees his paycheck.

Rance or rance ( rhymes with rants ) is a kind of dull red marble, with blue or white veins--
They are looking for some rance with blue veins, for the top of the piece.
The pedestal is rance with white veins.

Rance may also mean a prop of some kind, such as a pole or board--
Use the board as a rance to hold up the side of the shed.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"After he's been to an auction, he rants about rance and ormulu, among other things."

anyway, any way

Anyway or anyway ( one word ) means in whichever case or event; nevertheless--
They won't be home until later, anyway.
He dislikes sports but he watches baseball anyway, just to be sociable.

Any way or any way ( two words ) means no matter which method or direction--
Do the job any way that is most economical.
Turn any way you like; we'll just go around until we get back to start.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"You can prepare the salad any way that you like; he won't eat it anyway."